trademarks

“It seems to me that you could prevail on the idea that when the uses are actually different it’s not precluded, but when they are the same, it is. That’s the basic preclusion rule,” Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral arguments.

Evidence of third-party Cinderella dolls long having been marketed domestically, as well as the long history of the fairy tale, convinced the Board that Disney’s mark was too weak to block United Trademark’s.

For a survey to be given significant weight in showing consumer confusion, counsel should take care to ensure that an unbiased expert employs proper methods to survey an appropriate, representative sample.

The question the TTAB determined that it had to decide was whether Enterprise's omission of either the term FLEET MANAGEMENT or COMMERCIAL TRUCKS in the mark changes the commercial impression of the mark. The Board felt that it did not.